Wireless communication networks are widely deployed to provide various communication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging, broadcasts, and so on. Such networks, which are usually multiple access networks, support communications for multiple users by sharing the available network resources.
In some applications, the use of wide area radio access technologies may be impractical due to limitations on power budgets and/or constraints on battery life. Many devices installed in residences, businesses and vehicles are now provisioned or retrofitted with control and monitoring devices that can communicate wirelessly using a low-energy radio access technology to enable connection to other devices. For example, sensors, light bulbs, audio visual equipment, security system devices, appliances and other devices may be equipped for low-energy, short-range radio communications that operate with dissipation using near-field communications (NFC) and Bluetooth technologies. In one example, low-energy devices may communicate using Bluetooth in the 2.4 GHz industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) band.
Low-energy devices may be used in application environments where the amount of energy that is available is limited, such as in battery-powered devices. Low-energy devices frequently have a limited communication range to conserve battery. For example, sensors utilizing Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) to communicate with other devices or sensors typically have a communication range on the order of thirty meters. Smartphones and computing devices may be capable of communicating with nearby devices using Bluetooth or NFC networking, but mobile devices that are in motion may often be beyond the range of the low-energy, short-range radio networks.
In some instances, it may be desirable to communicate with a low-energy device that is located at a distance that is greater than the communication range of the low-energy device. Conventional methods of communicating with remote sensors may require that the sensor be configured to upload sensor data to a server (e.g., a cloud server) from which sensor data can be retrieved through the Internet. This approach is associated with higher cost, greater overall resource usage and increased complexity. These issues may preclude direct access to a monitored device in a manner that permits a client device to exercise real-time control with respect to the sensor.